This invention relates to the prevention, identification and control of insect pests and parasites, and more specifically to the non-toxic extermination of fleas and similar jumping or biting insects.
The cat flea, the dog flea, and the rat flea have been a scourge since the dawn of humanity. Not only can they cause unbearable discomfort to both humans and animals, they also carry diseases including bubonic plague still endemic in many parts of the United States. Flea control is commonly achieved by chemical products whose toxicity can have adverse consequences not only on individuals affected with allergies, but also on the entire environment. Man is beginning to learn some bitter lessons from excessive use of DDT, chlorodane and numerous other pesticides in the control of fleas and other insects in previous decades, and also from the high toxicity of sites where domestic and industrial wastes have been dumped. Yet there is no effective non-toxic means to control flea infestations. It is therefore imperative to avoid any abuse of pesticides and to use them only when, and to the extent necessary. Due to the ubiquitous character of fleas, people tend to impute to them any bite or other suspicious redness of the skin. Pesticides are often sprayed indiscriminately to vast areas, often far beyond what would be necessary to eliminate the culprit.
Pest control personnel called in to treat an allegedly infested area have no practical means to collect samples of the suspected pest in order to determine their proper identity and extent of infestation. They end up spraying often indiscriminately with highly toxic substances formulated to kill a broad spectrum of insects, when in fact a limited application of a more specific and/or benign chemical would have sufficed.